Trapped in Blessings.

My 95' Nissan Maxima, which all of my family and friends call the 'maxipad' is a joke. A couple years ago, the radio/cd screen stopped working, so I unfortunately have to guess which station and or song I am listening to all. the. time. While parked at an intersection one day with my cousin, the side review mirror just fell off, popped right off onto the ground and I couldn't even get out to pick it up because I was laughing so hard. I also remember driving through a jack in the box one night with some friends, and my driver side window just stopped rolling down, needless to say we ordered from the back seat. A couple of times my little trooper has just completely crapped out on me. "Oh, hey car... sure go ahead and stop working on me, I didn't need to go anywhere anyways." I vividly remember almost starting on fire at a red light one time too. The gentleman next to me rolled down his window yelling "You're car is smoking", my response, "Yeah, I know, it does that." The windows no longer roll down, and the music will only play once I hit 70mph, which rarely happens considering my commute is about 12 mintues on a main road. Every time I have to go anywhere, I dread taking this thing. I'd almost rather ride a bicycle (seriously considering it).

Yesterday I had to go run some errands. I made it about .2 miles before my back was sweating. I was hitting every. single. stoplight. and when your only source of airflow is the sunroof you start to lose your mind. I was trapped, in 95 degree heat with a smoking car, awesome. I was so mad, I seriously contemplated running myself off the road just so I could get out! It wasn't until I saw a young woman wearing no shoes, carrying pretty much everything she owned, walking along the stopped traffic. Then it hit me. I have a car! I am such a complainer, and I should be thankful that 330,000 miles later my maxipad is still holding up! It was then I made a decision. I could continue to be mad, or I could change my attitude. Getting mad doesn't help anything, doesn't change anything, and wasn't going to do anything but bring me down. So, instead I was thankful, and smiled because having a car in THIS condition, that stills runs... is rare.

Dream Come True

When I was little, I had this obsession with New York City. I wanted to be older, wear a pencil skirt with matching blazer and walk myself to my magazine office on the 34th floor. There's just something about the scrubbing of suits jackets and high heels clanking along the dirty streets, resounding hum of busses and taxis, the lights, the way it looks so free and giving to the average individual, I wanted that life so bad.

I used to pretend that I was walking down the streets of Manhattan, coffee in hand, on my way to the office on the sidewalk outside of my parents house, while holding my make-shift briefcase, (which was an old board game at the time). My parents probably thought I was such a weirdo, but then again not much has changed. I always told myself that someday I'd go to New York, but that's kind of like saying "I wouldn't need anyone to push me out of the plane if I ever went skydiving". Sometimes in life you need a little push. A little motivation to say that the 'someday' is today, and that your imagination can become a reality if you just go. So, I went! [Of course having a job that takes you on a trip to New York is a plus]

I am so thankful for this opportunity, I'm never moving home.